Keep Making Peace Day

Friday

Apr 5, 2013 at 5:00 AM

The United Methodist Women of West Michigan and Detroit conferences, along with the Boards of Church and Society, the Lansing Shalom Center, and MSU Wesley are sponsoring the 11th annual "Keep Making Peace Day."

By Judy Huynh

The United Methodist Women of West Michigan and Detroit conferences, along with the Boards of Church and Society, the Lansing Shalom Center, and MSU Wesley are sponsoring the 11th annual "Keep Making Peace Day." It will be held at the University Methodist Church in East Lansing on April 13, 2013, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $15 per person or $25 per family, which includes lunch; you can register for this event at www.msuwesley.org. This is an excellent event with outstanding speakers. Anyone who is interested in peace issues is sure to find it very worthwhile. If you have not seen the movie "The Hunger Games" film, there will be a film screening on Friday, April 12, at 7 p.m. at University Methodist Church. The film screening is free, and no registration is necessary.

This year, Keep Making Peace will deal with "The 2013 Hunger Games: Entertaining Violence?" The Hunger Games trilogy has been very popular among many age levels, particularly with the younger generation. The books (and movie) deal with the issues of hunger, violence, video games, and reality TV. If you have not read The Hunger Games trilogy, I highly recommend them – whatever your age!

Rev. Ann Duncan, from North Carolina, will speak on "The Hunger Games Trilogy: Was Christ Present in Panem?" and Rev. Faith Fowler, from Cass United Methodist Church in Detroit will talk about the reality of hunger in Michigan in 2013. Rev. Bob Roth, chaplain at the University of Michigan Wesley Foundation, and Rev. Bill Chu, chaplain of Michigan State University Wesley Foundation will present Christian ways of evaluating media, promoting peace, eliminating poverty, and salvaging planet earth. This is going to be a very interesting and informative day for all who are able to attend.

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JUDY HUYNH, a former teacher and service learning coordinator in Palo Schools, is a member of the Ionia County Peace Community. She is involved with many efforts to end hunger and poverty in our world. She serves on the Kids Can Make a Difference advisory board and the executive board for Empty Bowls, is an area volunteer coordinator for Heifer International and was a member of the Educators Advisory Council which developed their Global Education Resource Kits. Judy is the Mission Coordinator for Social Action for the Heartland District United Methodist Women, and on the board for GLUNA (Greater Lansing Area United Nations Association), She is a member of LATTICE (Linking All Types of Teachers to International and Cross-Cultural Education), RESPECT (Refugee Educational Sponsorship Program – Enhancing Communities Together) and iEARN (International Education and Research Network). She has presented at numerous state and national service learning conferences, Heifer International, iEARN, and many other conferences and workshops for educators. Huynh has been an Ionia County 4-H volunteer leader for over 35 years and serves on the State 4-H Global and Cultural Education Committee.